It would be remiss of me not to mention Roadstar in my review, as they are clearly becoming one of the best British acts on the scene.  I’ve seen them a couple of times before and the first thing that hits you is their confidence. They have a coolness and swagger that many a seasoned band have never achieved, but this isn’t just for show – they have the substance both in song quality and musicianship behind a great image which gives you the impression that they are destined for bigger and better things. 

Tonight’s show came a day after their appearance at the Monsters of Rock festival and despite a bit of a sore throat, vocalist Richie Hevanz was on top form and the band were tighter than I had previously seen them, benefiting no doubt from their recent time together in the studio recording their debut album “Grand Hotel” (see CD Reviews for more details). It said a lot for their performance that all the copies of their debut album were sold out at the merchandise stand. 

As the song goes “there’s no justice in the world”, but if that changes anytime soon, then Roadstar will be massive. 

And so to Queensryche.  Although billed as the full versions of Operation Mindcrime I and II the set was restricted to an hour and a half  and so in effect what was played was an abridged version of both albums. As the opening strains of Revolution Calling began Geoff Tate appeared in trademark shades and black leather jacket. Time has definitely affected Tate's vocal range and Pamela Moore (Sister Mary from both Mindcrime albums) put in an early appearance, taking on a far more prominent role than in the past, singing many of the backing vocals and helping Tate out on some of the more vocally straining choruses. Nearly 20 years on though the quality of songs from the original Mindcrime album still stand as some of the finest written in the genre. 

Due to time constraints the band omitted Speak, The Mission and (initially) Eyes Of A Stranger from Mindcrime I, which slightly defeated the object of playing full versions of both albums as a sort of rock opera affair. Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson seemed to be just going through the motions and it would be hard, if not impossible, to tell from their lack of emotion whether they were actually enjoying the experience at all. As for Mike Stone, as good a guitarist as he is, he isn’t Chris DeGarmo, and the songs lacked the latter’s sound, feel and vocals. His absence is still a hurdle Queensryche have found no way of overcoming. 

As I Don’t Believe In Love faded out Queensryche launched straight into I’m American - the first track and leadoff single from OM II. The new material on display was all played flawlessly, but this was the highlight, its aggression and attitude much in evidence and a lot better live than on CD.  What was obvious was the fact that many in attendance either hadn't got Mindcrime II yet or hadn’t had time to learn the lyrics and therefore the atmosphere changed dramatically from the sing-a-long to an album loved for years, to a respectful, if quiet, appreciation of material people were not familiar with. This was perhaps understandable due to the fact Mindcrime II is relatively new,  but made for a strange concert environment and experience. 

Queensryche visibly seemed to put more effort into the new songs and the theatrics were taken up a notch or two - dragging a supposed Dr X character on stage for a ritual execution and bringing on a straitjacketed wheelchair-bound Geoff Tate for the final song. This only served further to emphasise that the quality of songs on Mindcrime II are no match for those on the original. I genuinely do not believe that this is just a time and familiarity thing – Mindcrime I is still the standout album of its generation whilst Mindcrime II ultimately fails to live up to its creator’s own stratospheric high standards. 

Tate seems to be now totally obsessed with Mindcrime the story, both in the songs on Mindcrime II which favour storyline over melody and in the growing theatricality of his stage performance. Again several songs were omitted due to time constraints before they rounded things off by going back to Eyes Of A Stranger (along with an immediate return of the audience’s participation).  The band did return for an encore of Empire and Jet City Woman but then they're done.

In conclusion and given that the World Cup starts this very week, it is somewhat appropriate to summarise the gig as a “game of two halves”, both in terms of song quality and audience participation. It’s difficult to know where Queensryche will, or should go from here. Personally, I think for future tours they really need to go back to basics to rediscover what made people love them in the first place. Their set list should highlight far more material from the debut EP, The Warning and Rage For Order as well as selected highlights from the rest of their vast back catalogue. Whilst I can fully understand and support the reasoning behind doing the full Mindcrime pair this time round, it is not something I think they would be wise to repeat anytime soon.   

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